Saturday 31st January 2009

And still the sky drops little spots of water into our heads.


And then the clouds part for a brief moment.

Snow is forecast. Just think of the photo opportunities if it comes to pass. Whoopeee!

Friday 30th January 2009

The end of a stormy day.

Thursday 29th January 2009

I did some shopping in neabry Heswall today.


Shopping in Heswall would not be complete without calling into Linghams Bookshop and wandering around the books and cards before having a coffee and a hot cinnamon Danish as I do a crossword.

Wednesday 28th January 2009

A beasutiful day after a rainy start. I spent the afternoon gardening in the warm sunshine.


By this time last year the Snowdrops were well out and even the Daffodils had started to bloom. This year everything is more back to 'normal' but the Snowdrops should be fully out early in February.

Tuesday 27th January 2009

Red sky in the morning – shepherd’s warning.


I could see a red sky above the Doctor’s surgery this morning so I rushed to get my coat and shoes on and walked the few hundred yards round to Marlfield Lane for a photo. What does one do for the rest of the day when one has taken one’s best picture by 8.10 a.m.?

Monday 26th January

We have lived in Pensby for four years now and I still don’t know whether the lane around the corner from us, Gills Lane, is pronounced GHyll’s Lane or Jill’s Lane.


Whatever it is called its hedgerows can look most attractive in the wintry sunshine.

Sunday 25th January 2009

It's Burns Night - and this year is the 250th anniversary of his birth.

Leading our Haggis to the slaughter...


Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
...
His knife see rustic Labour dicht,
An' cut you up wi' ready slicht,
Trenching your gushing entrails bricht,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sicht,
Warm-reekin, rich!
...
Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinkin ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!
...
from Burns 'Address To a Haggis'

(sonsie = cheeky)
(dicht = wipe / sharpen)
(slicht = skill)
(skinkin ware = watery soup)
(jaups = slops about)
(luggies = two-handled continental bowls)

Saturday 24th January 2009

The barometer dropped drastically as a Low came in.

Friday 23rd January 2009

Fungi on a tree stump in the back garden.


Most fungi are annuals that show their fruiting bodies in the autumn but some can be found at other times of year. There are also perennial fungi like these bracket ones which form attractive layers on rotting wood.

Thursday 22nd January

I took advantage of one of the brief sunny spells between wintery showers to walk round the corner into Marlfield Lane.

I love hedgerows with fully grown trees in them, like this one alongside Gills Lane. Their presence makes up for the lack of so many other aspects of the countrsyide here in suburban Pensby.

Wednesday 21st January 2009

Tablet sorting time - can't put it off any longer.


Once a month I go through the awful job of sorting my tablets into holders for each day's supply. That's not counting the soluble ones, the ones to be taken as required, and so on. Occasionally I fall down the stairs when my legs give way. It's not the bouncing that wakes people up it's the rattling of the tablets in my tummy.

Tuesday 20th January 2009

Early morning moon.


Through the branches of the Ash tree from the study window.

Monday January 19th 2009

High winds have blasted the garden the last couple of days.


Normally this first gale of the New Year flattens our Pampas Grass but it has survived so far. As soon as th Spring comes the House Sparrows will pinch all the seedheads and strip it bare for their nesting material.

Sunday 18th January 2009

It was a wet and windy day so I stayed indoors.


This is one of our incense burners - the smoke comes out of his mouth. I think I called him Clarence when we bought him. We got him about twelve years ago while on holiday in Herefordshire. For Christmas we dressed him in a little Santa coat.

Saturday 17th January 2009

Insomnia....


Blogging in the middle of the night.

Yesterday I had difficulty choosing one picture out of the number I had taken that day but when I went to Sandy Cove 365 I realised that the process allows more than one photo. While for some people the discipline of the exercise is taking a photo every day I realised the real discipline for me is choosing one photo. As someone who has been known to happily take up to a thousand a day on a trip to the zoo that is going to be difficult. But one photo a day is what I set out to take and one is what I shall post. (Those who know me will promptly breathe a sigh of relief).

Friday 16th January 2009

Another dull day but so mild that it was pleasant wandering around the garden.


These beautiful mosses are on the roof of next door's garage, abutting our garden. It's a shame for them that only we can see them. Their side of the roof faces West and has comparatively few mosses on it.

Thursday 15th January 2009

Breakfast.



Breakfast varies but since I got my breadmaker I quite frequently settle for brown bread with marmalade and either peanut butter or marmite. Alternatives commonly used are muesli or porridge (not to spread on the bread you understand!)

The teacloth isn't just chucked there untidily, I hasten to add; it covers the bread to keep it fresh.

Wednesday 14th January 2009

One aspect of the Project 365 ‘rules’ I am unhappy with is the idea of showing a photo of myself once a month to show how I have changed during the year. Nevertheless, for my Project 355 I propose to stick to it, if in a slightly bizarre way.


This is the January one and shows that my hair needs cutting. It was last cut in early April 2008 ready for Bryony’s wedding in May. I don’t like it looking too neat and tidy – that has never been ‘Me’.

Tuesday 13th January

This is my first job of the day – feeding the cats. Meek (the tabby) and Samantha (the black and white) are well over thirteen years old but by the way they bounce around waiting for breakfast you wouldn’t believe it. Unlike most ‘teenagers’ they eat whatever is put in front of them.

Monday 12th January

I was spoiled for choice as to which photo to post today - I wonder how long that will last.


I took my monthly trip to pick up my prescription from the chemist today. I'll soon need a lorry to collect it all but at least the bright and breezy staff make the short walk pleasant. In a couple of days it will be time to fill my pill-holders - now that's a photo worth waiting for!

My Project 355

You may have heard of Project 365 – posting a photograph every day for a year. This is my version – i.e. I have started late but would like to end on 31st December.

The idea is to post a photo that you have taken every day. The quality is less important than the concept of recording a year in your life.

Amongst the suggestions are :

Try to capture the day’s events in a single photo. Perform photographic experiments. Take a photo of someone new you meet, something you ate for the first time, or something you just learned how to do. Take a photo of something that made you smile. And don’t forget to take a photo of yourself at least once a month so you can remember how you’ve changed, too.

Use your blog entry, or your photo description, to explain what’s going on in each day’s photograph. How good did that dinner taste? What made you want to take a photo of that stranger? It’ll help you remember down the road, and it gives friends following along a better appreciation of why you took the photo you did. You don’t need to write a lot, just enough to add some color.

Don’t Stop, No Matter What. This is perhaps the most important tip of all. You will get tired of taking a photo every single day. Some days, you will consider giving up. Don’t. The end result is worth the effort. Remind yourself why you wanted to do it in first place.

This latter is the problem. There will undoubtedly be days when I am too ill to get out of bed for nothing other than the essentials of life. Hopefully I will learn to find a way round it – even if it is a photo of a trip to the loo! But then the problem will arise of actually posting it. That may well have to be done the next or a subsequent day. But I’m prepared to have a go...

The following photo can represent the first 11 days of the year which were predominantly frosty and icy.